How To Properly Setup Home Theater Seating

Do you have a home cinema, or are you planning to treat yourself to one? Well, if you’re a true-blue cinema aficionado, it may be very important for you to truly maximize your time at the movies – even if it is right at your own home. All it takes just a little bit of strategy, computation, measurement and proper seating to make your home movie experience a truly spectacular one.

Determine the type of chairs that you would like. This decision will depend on your own living arrangement. Do you have a family? A regular long, living-room sofa might suffice. If you live with your spouse or your partner, you might prefer a cozy love seat, along with a few individual chairs for your occasional guests. You might also enjoy having a lounge chair, recliner or La-Z boy so you could thoroughly relax yourself while watching your movie. If you have kids, you might want to purchase seats that are appropriate for their sizes and which are more resilient to spills and messes.

Know the type of features that you will like your chairs to have. If you have the budget for it, you might even consider purchasing seats that have manual recliners, cup holders, or head rests. Consider buying a specially-designed home theater set that comes complete with seats.

Measure your TV’s width. This will help you determine the best distance away from the TV that you should position your seats. The recommended minimum distance between your TV and the seats is twice your TV width, while the recommended maximum distance is five times your TV width. Say your TV is 16 inches wide. The minimum distance is 32 inches, while the maximum is 80 inches. However, if your TV is high-definition, it’s best that you increase the minimum and maximum distance.

Know the ideal viewing angles. It is recommended that all the seats be positioned in such a way that they are all within a 36-degree angle of the TV set. Imagine the TV as the focal point, and from this focal point a “viewing cone”, which measures 36 degrees, emerges. All the seats should be positioned within this viewing cone. Also, you should make sure that the TV is placed in such a way that the eyes of the viewers are level with the TV screen’s center.

Know the maximum number of rows that you could provide. It’s best that you have only one row of seats for your home theater, but if you want to accommodate as many guests as possible within the 36 degree angle recommended, it might be necessary for you to have more than one row. Divide the screen width of your TV in inches by 30, and round this off to the nearest whole number. The number that you get is the maximum number of recommended rows that you can have. Also, make sure that the height of the chair of the next rows is more elevated than those in the first row.

Position the speakers properly. It’s best that you have two speakers, and these speakers should be to the left and to the right of the TV, forming a 30 degree angle, with the middle point of the seating area as the main focal point (the 0 degree).

There you have it! These are some of the most important guidelines for properly setting up your home theater seating. After all these pains of ensuring the best viewing angle for everybody, sit back, relax and thoroughly enjoy the show!